The US Supreme Court on Monday agreed to settle a split among the circuits on whether immigrants convicted of state drug felonies can remain in the US if their crimes were misdemeanors under federal law. The Court granted certiorari and consolidated appeals brought by two Mexican citizens. Jose Lopez pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting [...]
A federal judge Monday denied a request by defense lawyers to review alleged National Security Agency (NSA) wiretaps in the government's case against a Pakistani-American father and son who are accused of terrorism-related activities. Hamid Hayat was charged with lying to US law enforcement agents about attending terrorist training camps in Pakistan, and his father [...]
JURIST Special Guest Columnist Jonathan Freiman, one of the attorneys representing Jose Padilla on his habeas petition, says that the concurrence in the US Supreme Court's rejection of Padilla's certiorari petition stands as a warning to the government that when it comes to imprisoning US citizens without charge or trial, its time may be running [...]
JURIST Guest Columnists Amy Ross of the University of Georgia Department of Geography and Chandra Lekha Sriram, Chair of Human Rights at the University of East London School of Law (UK), say that the debate over where to try ex-Liberian president Charles Taylor for crimes against humanity and war crimes raises critical questions of justice [...]
The Iraqi High Criminal Court announced Tuesday that new genocide and crimes against humanity charges have been filed against Saddam Hussein and six others in his former regime's crackdown against the Kurds during the 1980s. The new charges were filed with a different judge than the one handling his current trial for the 1982 massacre [...]
US District Court Judge George Steeh has struck down a Michigan law prohibiting the sale of certain violent video games to minors, ruling that the law is unconstitutionally vague . The law was signed by Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm last September but the Michigan Retailers Association, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), and the Video Software [...]
Moussaoui trial verdict, US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, April 3, 2006 . See a court-redacted copy of the verdict form on counts 1, 3 and 4 (conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, conspiracy to destroy aircraft, and conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction). Reported in JURIST's Paper [...]
The Netherlands should adopt immigration laws similar to those in Australia – widely considered the most stringent in the industrialized world and sometimes harshly criticized – Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said Monday during an official visit to Canberra. Balkenende said immigrants who seek to enter his country, like those who enter Australia, should [...]
The US Department of Defense Monday released 2,600 pages of case review documents pertaining to Guantanamo Bay prisoners, finally making public the names of all 490 prisoners currently held at the facility after disclosing the identities of more then 300 last month. The documents consist of Administrative Review Board (ARB) summaries for hearings held after [...]
A jury has found Zacarias Moussaoui eligible for the death penalty for his role in the Sept. 11 terror attacks . Moussaoui pleaded guilty last year to six conspiracy charges , admitting involvement with al Qaeda, but said at the time that he had no role in the Sept. 11 plot. During his sentencing trial [...]
